In a new incident of illegal immigration, Libyan authorities managed to arrest 21 undocumented Egyptian migrants who were hiding in a hole and had not eaten for days after the traffickers abandoned them. The authorities found the young Egyptians in the Lafrin area south of Bir al-Ashhab city, where they intend to deport them to Egypt after completing legal procedures. Despite warnings from Egyptian authorities about the dangers of illegal immigration and traveling to Libya, attempts by some youths to migrate illegally to Europe through Libya with the help of Egyptian and Libyan traffickers continue, exposing them to drowning or kidnapping by armed gangs demanding a ransom for their release.
Disappearance of 13 Young Men
Days ago, about 13 young men from the village of Mit al-Karma, affiliated with the city of Talkha in Dakahlia Governorate, went missing, and communication with their family in Egypt was lost. The kidnappers demanded a ransom exceeding $8,000 per young man, which later decreased to around $5,000. Abdel Rahman al-Baz, the brother of one of the kidnapped, told "Al Arabiya.net" that the kidnapped young men traveled to Libya in mid-July to work there and lost contact about two weeks ago. He added that they later heard from some Egyptians working there that they had been kidnapped by armed gangs, currently located in a drug warehouse near Tripoli.
Disappearance of Youths in Tripoli
Weeks ago, the families of 16 of their children from the village of al-Jazzazir in Maragha Center, Sohag Governorate, southern Egypt, reported their disappearance in Libya since September 24. They clarified that the last known location of the youths was in the Qaraqash area near the Libyan capital, Tripoli. In a separate incident, Egyptian citizens reported in March the kidnapping of eight of their relatives working in Libya. Several residents of the village of Jirdu, affiliated with the city of Atfah in Fayoum Governorate, revealed that armed men kidnapped eight young men from the village who had been working in Libya for a year, demanding a ransom of 20,000 Libyan dinars for each young man in exchange for their release. Meanwhile, last January, Egyptian authorities successfully rescued 32 young men kidnapped by gangs in the Beni Walid area in Libya. They were from the village of al-Umrah, affiliated with the city of Abu Tisht in Qena Governorate, southern Egypt, after traveling to Libya illegally to work there and were subsequently kidnapped by gangs.
